How to Make the Perfect Cheese Fondue

Those of you who regularly read my blog know that this past week was dedicated to Pretzel Challah. It was a pretty big project, involving lots of testing to get the recipe exactly right. When I finally nailed it, I’d made a total of 6 pretzel challahs and a batch of pretzel challah rolls. Now, I love challah and I love pretzels, but that’s a lot of bread!! Normally I’d bake up a batch of my Challah Bread Pudding with all of that extra carby goodness, but pretzel challah is salty, so it won’t work in a sweet pudding. I gave away two of the challahs. Then I used the pretzel rolls to make mini grilled cheese sandwiches and served them with tomato soup, which was a yummy dinner. But I still had a lot of bread left over. What to do?

Fondue, that’s what! There is something perfect about the combination of melted cheese and a pretzel. It’s decadent dairy deliciousness. Trouble was, the whole fondue thing was kind of new to me. I’ve made it before, but not often, and never with great results. I spent a morning pondering the process. It’s a simple concept, but there are plenty of things that could go wrong. Cheese can get lumpy, overly cooked, or stringy. You need the right proportion and types of cheese, a certain amount of acid, and a thickener to get the consistency just right.

As luck would have it, that very afternoon I received an email from Brigitte of Natural Kosher Cheese, asking if we could meet up sometime. Talk about serendipitous timing! Brigitte has her own food blog, and she certainly knows a thing or two about cheese. After an exchange of emails, Brigitte sent me some tips for creating a great cheese fondue. After studying her advice and reading up on the fondue process, I was able to create a really, really tasty fondue. I also compiled this helpful list…

How to Make the Perfect Cheese Fondue

Tip #1: Use 1 pound of cheese for your recipe. The best flavor is usually achieved by blending two types of cheeses. You can experiment with flavor by combining various ratios of fondue-friendly cheeses. Some cheeses that work well for fondue include:

– Swiss
– Fontina
– Gruyere
– Emmentaler
– Cheddar
– Monterey jack

Tip #2: You will need wine, or some other kind of acidic liquid. Wine provides acid, which helps to break up the cheese’s stringiness. A dry white wine works best. Here are some good choices:

Tip #3: If you prefer to make the fondue without alcohol, you will need to add a non-alcoholic acid, like lemon juice. Proportions will vary depending on the recipe you’re using. I found that substituting milk for the wine and adding 2-3 tbsp of lemon juice seemed to work in converting recipes from alcoholic to non-alcoholic. You’ll need to experiment and see what works best for you.

Tip #4: You will need a thickener like flour or cornstarch. If you’re keeping gluten free, a certified GF cornstarch is a safe bet. If you’re not worried about the gluten, feel free to use flour.

Tip #5: Melt cheese in a pot on the stovetop before transferring it to the fondue pot.

Tip #6: Shred your cheese before melting it. This will make the melting process smoother and easier.

Tip #7: Dissolve your thickener into your wine (or liquid) in the pot before melting the cheese, mixing slowly over low heat. Make sure the liquid is smooth with no lumps of powder. I found it’s easiest to do this using a whisk.

Tip #8: Melt cheese very gradually. Low, even heat is best. Add the shredded cheese slowly, one handful at a time. It will take a few minutes, but your patience will be rewarded with a smooth, tasty fondue. Don’t let the cheese boil.

Tip #9: Before transferring the cheese from the stovetop pot to the fondue serving pot, rub the inside of the serving pot with a fresh garlic clove. This will give a garlicky essence to your fondue, adding extra flavor and aroma. For a more pronounced garlic flavor, mince up a clove or two and add it to the melted cheese.

Tip #10: Serve cheese fondue with a variety of dipping choices. Cubed bread (like French baguette) is traditional. Lightly steamed vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli work well. Boiled or fried potato pieces are delicious. You can even get creative and dip fruits that go well with cheese, like sliced apples or grapes.

These tips should help you create your own tasty cheese fondue. I created one this week that is holy-moly-creamy-melty-amazingness– I call it my Cheesy Roasted Jalapeño Fondue. Give it a try!

This is a very informative post. Helps the unfamiliar become familiar. I will need to try fondue! Your picture of the fondue on the table does look wonderful. Who doesn’t like wine and cheese-delicious.

Great tips! Fondue is a fall and winter favorite in our house. I use Emmenthaler and Gruyere, I cut the cheese (no giggles) into small cubes and toss the cubes with cornstarch so that the cubes are all coated. I usually use Rhine wine (it it my jug wine for cooking) and my fondue usually turns out great, though some of your pretzel challah sounds like a perfect complement!

Seriously Tori, I am suppose to be going to bed but instead I am sitting her drooling over your recipes. I am now hungry again. You know your a rock star when you make someone so hungry they are considering whipping up fondue at 3 in the morning.

Hi Kathy, I do not recommend making fondue ahead. You should make it just before serving. It only takes a few minutes to put together. To save on prep time, you can assemble your ingredients ahead of time and clean and chop any vegetables or fruit you plan to use.

Hi, i was once a shiksa too!
I’ve always had my fondues come out really well. Never use cheddar, it almost always strings, especially sharp cheddar. Mild cheddar melts well, but it does not add to the taste here at all. Stick with Gruyere and Emmenteler. Also love to use the dry vermouth. Sauvignon Blanc is the next best, IMHO.
And most importantly, always add 2-3 Tbl of Kirsch. That’s what gives the fondue its true classic taste.

I don’t have any trouble making smooth, creamy fondue but I don’t know how thick it should be. The hard part is keeping it creamy on the table. The texture always changes. I’ve tried several cheeses and I get fondue that becomes one big lump of stringy cheese or it separates after I put it on the table. Is it the change in temp or maybe the thickness?

Becky- yes! It will taste great, both Emmentaler and Jarlsberg cheeses melt well for fondue. Of course, everybody has different taste when it comes to cheese, so you might want to try a bite of both to make sure you like them before melting. Enjoy!

Thanks Tori, for the reply. So the wine temperature , as in fridge, doesn’t matter ?
The first time i made fdondue i used a room temperature wine and it came out perfect.
This time i followed the same recipe but took the white wine from the fridge. It became lumpy and the liquid separated.

Hi Vaishali, in my experience it is the heat that can be problematic in fondue making, not cold liquid; however, just because I haven’t had your particular issue doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Extreme temperature fluctuations in either direction might be problematic. If you felt that room temperature wine worked best in the past, it might be best to use it in the future.

Angela, use 1 cup wine and 2 tbsp cornstarch for 1 pound of cheese. Whisk together wine and cornstarch first in fondue pot till smooth, then melt in the shredded cheese slowly a handful at a time, stirring constantly.

Hey! I have never made cheese fondue before, so I have a few questions. What type of fuel did you use? How did you get it into the holder? Does the holder get really hot, because its metal, and should I use an oven mitt to pick it up?
Thanks in advance.

Hi Chlie, my fondue pot is electric so there is no fuel involved. Every fondue pot is different, so it’s difficult to give you advice unless I know what kind of fondue pot you have. Most pots have a fuel or electric source below, and the cheese mixture cooks directly in the pot itself, so no need to touch the pot until after you’re done eating.

Suggestions for ratios of the cheeses referenced in the article? In particular between Gruyere Emmentaler and Swiss? Any of the wines listed go best with certain cheese ratios? Suggestions on places to obtain small amounts of kirsch?